In the end, they regrouped on the street outside. Applejack doffed and spun her hat, and this time Twilight took her turn.
She came up with a pink-hued slip. And immediately encountered a problem.
"Huh? The Costume Shop, The Party Store, The Joke Shop, The Toy Store, and the Antique Store! Pinkie!"
"Sorry!" Pinkie looked broken-hearted. "I just couldn't decide!"
Applejack rolled her eyes.
"Weyall... I suppose you could just pick one of those for us, Twi!"
Twilight thought for a moment. Then she smiled at Pinkie, seeing a way to make it work. "No! We'll do it as a run-off!"
"Excuse me, dahling?" Rarity asked. "A run... off?"
Rainbow Dash perked up. "Now you're talking, sister!"
Twilight nodded. "We have five stores, and there are five of you, not counting Derpy. Oops! Sorry, didn't mean to exclude you, Zecora!"
The zebra nodded, unoffended.
\ Rather than rush about, \
\ I shall as well sit this one out! \
"Okay. Each of you picks a store, and goes shopping there. We'll say for... thirty minutes, going by the clock tower. You each pick something you think I'd like, for no more than one fifth of my share. And here's the fun part: the last one who finds their way back me wins!
"What?" Rainbow looked disgusted. "What kind of rule is that?"
"Well, look at it this way, Rainbow," Twilight replied. "The faster you get there, the more time you have to look. And before you all go, we can let Derpy draw her slip, and Zecora and I will go with her while you're shopping."
They nodded in agreement, even Rainbow Dash. Applejack spun the hat for Derpy, even though there were only two slips left. Derpy pulled out the zebra-striped one. Zecora laughed.
\ Most auspicious, this pony's draw! \
\ For it will be where I was going before! \
"The Marketplace," Derpy read off the slip.
"Okay!" Twilight said. "We'll meet at the Marketplace in thirty minutes!"
There was some discussion of who would take which store, and then the five other ponies set off, as fast as they could.
Twilight, Zecora, and Derpy turned and trotted on through Ponyville, heading for the Marketplace where the fruit and vegetable vendors had their stalls. As they walked, Zecora seemed to be eyeing Twilight evaluatingly, but in a pleased way.
At Twilight's questioning look, she finally spoke:
\ Your friends to you look for a guide, \
\ Sensing the leadership you hide inside! \
"Who me? I just keep them from butting heads over silly stuff. And I rely on them just as much as they do on me!"
Zecora nodded cryptically. Then she looked at Derpy.
\ And on this small one, they too rely, \
\ Though perhaps in ways they cannot spy! \
Derpy looked up at her, puzzled, and then looked at Twilight. Twilight shook her head as well, for once having no idea what Zecora was driving at. Then Derpy shrugged and smiled, and was immediately distracted by a passing butterfly.
They reached the Marketplace, and Derpy set out to shop. And Twilight had to smile at her approach, which was typical Derpy. She moved from stall to stall, in order, up one row and down another. At each one, she sat down in front of the stall for a couple of minutes, and just looked at everything it had to offer. Then she got up and moved to the next one. And the next. She didn't pick up anything, or inspect anything more closely. She just looked, patiently and methodically, and moved on.
Zecora did some shopping herself at a few of the stalls, buying vegetables and herb seeds, plus a loaf of bread. But mostly, she followed Twilight and Derpy, watching the gray pegasus doing her peculiar form of shopping. At the Apple Family's stall Twilight said hello to Apple Bloom and Granny Smith, feeling like it was her responsibility to be social, since Derpy was regarding their stall with the same stolid dispassion as anyone else's.
As they went on, the others began to trickle back and join them. Finally all of them had arrived except for Rainbow Dash. Twilight looked up, expecting to find Rainbow hiding behind a cloud, waiting until everyone else had arrived so she could pretend to arrive last.
But there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
And Derpy kept going, stall after stall, looking and moving on, for another half-hour at least. For something to do, the others browsed the stalls as well, but soon they regrouped, speculating amongst themselves what exactly it was that Derpy had set herself to find.
Eventually, Derpy reached the last stall in the Marketplace.
And then she got up, walked back one row, down to the fifth stall, and plunked down several bits for a small carved house sitting amongst other assorted knickknacks. She tucked it carefully in her left-flank pocket along with her bit-bag, and trotted back to Twilight.
"All done!" she said simply, and sat down smiling at them.
Twilight looked around, still wondering what had happened to Rainbow. And then she saw her, approaching by land rather than by air, a guarded look on her face.
"Well!" Twilight said, half-seriously. "You really wanted to be sure you won, huh? Think we should disqualify her for going over on time?"
"Aww, never mind about that," Rainbow said. "Let's just show ya what we got!"
From the Antique Store, A.J. had bought a small picture frame. "I saw that the picture you've got of all of us was lookin' a little beat up, so I figured you could replace it with this."
From the Party Store, Pinkie had brought a sack of confetti. "This is for you, Twi!" she said proudly. "I'll stash it away until your party, and load it in my party cannon!"
"What party, Pinkie?"
"The next one I throw for you, silly!"
Twilight couldn't help but smile at Pinkie's absolute confidence that there would always be a next party.
From the Toy Store, Fluttershy had brought a box of watercolors. "I figured if you ever need a break from study, you might try painting. It's very relaxing!"
"Thanks, Fluttershy, I'll give it a shot. I must have a book on painting in the Library somewhere!"
"Uh, Twi?" Spike said, tugging her mane. "I think the idea is you don't need a book!"
"Oh. Right." Twilight smiled weakly. "Sorry, force of habit!"
From the Costume Shop, Rarity had brought a costume cape. "I thought this might compliment your Starswirl costume when Nightmare Night rolls around again, dahling."
"I... don't think Starswirl wore a cape over his robe... but it looks beautiful, so I'll give it try!"
And from the joke shop Rainbow had brought a hoof-trap. Twilight could still remember first encountering one as a filly, and shuddered at the sight of it. But she thanked Rainbow for the thought all the same.
She felt a little odd about having not done any shopping herself on her turn. But the things they'd all found were so wonderful that she didn't really mind.